Mega Man Zero - 100 Point S Rank Run [Part 1]
222Welcome to part 1 of my 100 point S rank run of the original Mega Man Zero. As the progenitor of the series it’s often cited as having imaginative but unpolished ideas, and while that statement holds merit in some regards, it still possesses the buttery smooth movement of its successors while also having a combat system unique unto itself. The result is a game that can be brutal to perfect but immensely satisfying when that perfection is achieved. Without further ado, here are the notes for this part.
-The intro stage has remarkable music and atmosphere, Zero awakening and immediately jumping into action to protect Ciel is a great starting premise. The gameplay is basic of course, there’s only so much that can be done with a simple buster, but you can maneuver precisely to snipe some spiders in advance. Ciel is also rather fast, leaving her behind while dashing all over the place isn’t much of a concern, unlike a certain someone present in a later stage.
-It’s possible to farm points for your weapons before engaging Aztec Falcon, but I elect not to since the game really goads players into immediately fighting him after the intro. As far as the stage goes there isn’t much threat outside of the rolling spiked ball enemies, aptly named Spikings. Aztec Falcon himself has a reputation of being a brutal first proper boss, and I’d say it’s fairly well warranted. The biggest issue in my opinion is that his contact hitbox is very bizarre and changes drastically depending on the attack he uses. A little practice goes a long way in circumventing his attacks and finding openings to slice him.
-The primary routing decision I made in this run was to immediately go after Maha Ganeshariff. This is because defeating him grants access to the Triple Rod after the stage is complete. I did farm the Z-Saber and the Buster before entering the stage but I don’t use charge attacks on Maha so I can show off the fight. It is possible to stunlock him using the Rolling Slash but I wasn’t prepared to commit the time necessary to learn that technique for this run.
-With the Triple Rod acquired, I equip it to Zero and keep it there for 99% of the rest of the game. This weapon is absolutely stellar, a cornerstone of a lot of the fun Z1 has to provide. On the ground its multi-directional, multi-thrust stabbing provides great long distance coverage against high health enemies and aerial bosses. In particular, the first two thrusts don’t generate long duration invincibility frames on bosses. As a result, it’s also capable of interrupting Z-Saber strikes allowing for infinite repetition of single or double slashes into a Triple Rod poke, aimed in any direction. The weapon shines equally bright in the air, it’s strike range being far greater than that of the Z-Saber, which trivializes certain annoying enemies like the Seal Cannon, the green wall crawling tank. Furthermore, aiming the Triple Rod downwards while airborne allows Zero to bounce off enemies in a pogo stick like fashion, and I find this is seriously addicting. By continuing to hold down on the d-pad, Zero will keep the weapon extended and can move left or right by using diagonal inputs. Jump height can be modulated just like with regular jumps, holding the button down allows Zero to bounce higher off an enemy. Finally, horizontal speed during a pogo chain is influenced by whether or not you do a dash jump or a regular jump while initiating the pogo. Altogether, after playing through the whole game, the Triple Rod has cemented itself on equal ground with the Recoil Rod from MMZ3, being tied as my favorite tertiary weapon in Zero’s arsenal.
-I want to bring attention to a minor bit of pattern manipulation on Anubis. When the fight starts, wait for him to either throw his staff at you or summon zombies, don’t encroach on his space until then otherwise he’ll shift to the other side of the screen. From there you can chain individual Triple Rod hits from the elevated ground on the left side of the arena. Once he disappears into the sand, stick to the left side of the screen to have him spawn on the right. This time, approach him to force him to the left side where the zombie-free elevated ground is and repeat the cycle.
-I did attempt to defeat Hittite Hottaid with only pogo bounces but it’s not really practical unfortunately, you need to let it spawn enough enemies to get 100 points in the mission. Still, I did manage to destroy the top hatch and the pantheon squad with pogos so I suppose that satiates the need for pogo bounces in this fight.
Here are the timestamps for the stages and bosses in this part:
00:00 - Underground Laboratory | Golem
02:21 - Disposal Center | Aztec Falcon
04:31 - Underground Laboratory | Maha Ganeshariff
07:49 - Subway Ruins | Pantheon Core
10:23 - Abandoned Factory | Guard Orotic
13:05 - Desert | Anubis Necromancess III
17:47 - Disposal Center | Hittite Hottaid
Hope you enjoy, any comments and questions are welcomed.
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